—
The Spiral shard fused into Hoshiro's palm without pain.
No resistance.
Just acceptance.
And in that instant, he saw it all:
—Worlds layered like pages.
—Versions of Tokyo built on top of each other.
—A multiverse knotted at its center—*him.*
—
Ayame's voice pulled him back.
"Hoshiro… the shard's projecting. It's building a—"
"Gate," he finished, watching as a spiral portal shimmered open midair. Not violent. Not chaotic. Just… *waiting*.
Kazuki's jaw tightened. "You're thinking of going through?"
"It's not a door," Hoshiro said. "It's a question."
Ayame stepped closer. "What's on the other side?"
Hoshiro looked at her. "*Answers.* Maybe the ones we were never meant to have."
—
Hours later, under a sky filled with still stars, Hoshiro stood before the portal. He turned back once—at his friends, at Tokyo, at the world he saved.
Then he stepped through.
—
Light.
Silence.
And then—voices.
Familiar.
Unfamiliar.
Millions of them, whispering across infinite timelines.
A form approached from the spiraling light.
Tall.
Armored.
A mask like his—but whole.
"You've come far," the figure said. "But this isn't the end."
"Then what is it?" Hoshiro asked.
The figure removed the mask.
It was him.
Older.
Stronger.
And smiling.
"It's the beginning of *everything*."
—